IAU: Building a worldwide higher education community

The IAU 2009 International Conference on The Role of Higher Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding will take place at Notre-Dame University, Louaize, Lebanon, from November 4 to 6, 2009.

 

The IAU 2010 International Conference will be held at Mykolas Romeris University, in Vilnius, Lithuania, from June 25 to 26, 2010. It will focus on Ethics and Values in Higher Education in the Era of Globalisation: What Role for the Disciplines? Save your dates.

30 days left to submit a proposal for the fourth LEADHER programme competition. The Leadership for Higher Education Reform (LEADHER) programme provides grants to IAU Members in good standing that wish to develop a collaborative activity in one or several areas of higher education institutional reform. Contact: devylder.iau@unesco.org

Update on IAU projects
The first Newsletter of the Higher Education and Education for All (HEEFA) portal was released and sent to all IAU Members and a certain number of potentially interested persons. The Newsletter is composed of News from the Portal and the HEEFA Community and News from major stakeholders in the field of Education For All (EFA) and related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It will be issued once every two months and is free of charge. At present, it is available only in English, but it should be bilingual in the near future. The portal is the second outcome of the IAU project Strengthening Linkages for Improved Education: Higher Education and Research working for EFA and related MDGs.

IAU is proud to be collaborating with one of its Members, Hokkaido University (HU), in Sapporo, Japan, as the University undertakes a review of several key aspects of its internationalization strategy. IAU will work with an international Advisory Panel of experts who will collaborate with a team at HU as they examine current policy and activities and investigate ways for the University to pursue a dynamic internationalization plan in the future. A visit by the IAU Secretary-General in late October served as the launch of the process with the staff of the HU to proceed with the preparation of a self-review report. IAU hopes to build on the experience at HU to strengthen its advisory services in this and other related areas. Institutions interested in working with IAU in this manner can contact the Secretary-General. For more information on IAU’s work in internationalization, click here.

IAU Representation
EUA Autumn Conference, 8-10 October 2009, Germany
IAU was represented by one of its Vice Presidents, Prof. Abdul Razak Dzulkifli, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia, and by the Secretary-General at the EUA Autumn Conference which was held at the University of Giessen, Germany. The theme of the conference was Internationalization beyond Europe’s Frontiers: Enhancing Attractiveness through Global Partnership and Cooperation. The presentation by Prof. Dzulkifli is available online. Eva Egron-Polak took part in the final Plenary Panel which discussed Europe in interregional dialogue and chaired a session on networks and new forms of collaboration.
http://www.eua.be/events/autumn-conference-2009/home/

Multi-dimensional University Ranking Project
Isabelle Turmaine attended the first two advisory meetings linked to the Multi-dimensional University Ranking project on October 8 and 9, 2009 in Brussels, Belgium. The project, commissioned by the European Commission, is being developed by the Consortium for Higher Education and Research Performance Assessment (CHERPA) network, led by the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, The Netherlands, and the Centre for Higher Education Development, Germany. It was launched to study the feasibility of an alternative route to existing global rankings which would give more visibility to the diversity of higher education institutions and try to avoid their current biases.

International multi-stakeholders Workshop for the Global Survey on Sustainable Lifestyles (GSSL), 12-13 October 2009, Paris, France
The GSSL feeds into the Marrakech Process (http://esa.un.org/marrakechprocess/) which is to lead to the creation of a global framework for action on sustainable consumption and production (part of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation). 24 countries participated in the Survey so far and, after having invited their students to fill in the online questionnaire, several IAU Member institutions are now in the process of analysing the gathered data and of producing country reports which will be made available in 2010. The IAU Director Membership and Programme Development participated in the Meeting and sits on the editorial Board of three country reports.
http://www.unep.fr/gssl/

International Networking Meeting on Strategies for Training and Development in University Leadership & Management, 15-16 October 2009, Lima, Peru
The University Institute for Leadership and Management (IGLU) of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), in collaboration with the National Board of University Rectors of Peru (ANPR) and IAU held a meeting to compare and discuss practices and strategies for the professional development of higher education leadership and institutional management. Isabelle Devylder, IAU Programme Officer, was part of the organizing committee and attended the workshop. The event was organized as a follow-up to the Inter-American Meeting on Masters’ Degrees on University Leadership & Management offered by HEIs.

Global Forum of the Observatory of Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), 21-24 October 2009, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IAU co-sponsored the first Global Forum of the OBHE, one of its Member organizations, whose theme was Global Connections, Local Impacts: Best Practices, Models and Policies for Cross-Border Higher Education. As well as chairing a session on Globalization and Universities, Eva Egron-Polak took part in the plenary session on Perspectives on Global Quality Assurance in Cross Border Higher Education. Referring more particularly to the IAU, ACE, AUCC and CHEA Statement Sharing Quality Cross Border Higher Education, she also underlined the challenges and risks that CBHE and internationalization more generally may entail and how these are perceived. Drawing on the responses of the IAU 2009 Global Survey on Internationalization, she was also able to report on the extent to which offshore campuses and franchising are (or not) a priority for HEIs worldwide.
http://www.obhe.ac.uk/the_obhe_global_forum__malaysia/welcome

IAU Staff
Amanda Sudic (a.sudic@iau-aiu.net) joined the IAU Secretariat on October 15, 2009 as IAU Librarian/Documentalist. She will be in charge of the IAU library and documentation centre, and more particularly of the HEDBIB Database (the international bibliographic database on higher education), which is currently in the process of being revamped and technically upgraded. She will work under the supervision of Isabelle Turmaine.

For detailed information on these activities, contact us at: iau@unesco.org

News/Opportunities from around the World
UNESCO
UNESCO: 35th General Conference – Selected Highlights
The General Conference elected Ms. Irina Bokova, from Bulgaria, as Director General of UNESCO on October 15, 2009. She will begin her mandate on November 15, 2009.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46709&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
In her first official press conference, held on October 15, she reaffirmed the priority commitment of UNESCO to Africa and gender equity through education.
http://www.unesco.org/en/education/dynamic-content-single-view/news/
new_director_general_speaks_on_education_at_press_conference/back/9195/
A ministerial roundtable on What Education for the Future? Lessons from the major international education conferences was held from October 9 to 10, 2009. It focused on: Improving skills: a qualitative leap for education; Teachers’ vital role in inclusive education; and Promoting changes in policies and practices: the way forward.
http://www.unesco.org/en/education/events/education-ministers-round-table-2009/
On October 8, 2009, at the 8th coordination meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Education Ministers, UNESCO and OIC celebrated 30 years of partnership. 2009 also marked the 40th anniversary of OIC.
http://portal.unesco.org/fr/ev.php-URL_ID=46627&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
All the documents related to the Conference are available at:
http://www.unesco.org/en/general-conference-35session/

UNESCO: World Conference on ESD - Declaration and Proceedings
The Bonn Declaration, issued as a conclusion of the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) - held March-April 2009 – is now available in 8 languages. The document sets orientations and identifies concrete actions to be taken during the second half of the UN ESD Decade.
http://www.esd-world-conference-2009.org/en/whats-new/news-detail/
item/bonn-declaration-now-available-in-8-languages.html
The Conference Proceedings in English have also been released.
http://www.esd-world-conference-2009.org/fileadmin/download/ESD2009ProceedingsEnglishFINAL.pdf

UNESCO Division of Higher Education: Interview
In an interview published on EducPros.fr, Georges Haddad, Director, UNESCO Division of Higher Education describes UNESCO’s position on the public and private funding of higher education, rankings and world class universities.
http://www.educpros.fr/detail-article/h/833700e3fb/a/georges-haddad-directeur-de-lenseignement-superieur-a-lunesco.html (in French)

UNESCO University Twinning and Networking Programme (UNITWIN): UNESCO Chair on ICT in Togo
An agreement has been signed for the creation of a new UNESCO Chair for information and communication technologies (ICT) and higher education development in Western Africa at the University of Kara, Lome, Togo. It will aim at training high-level ICT professionals, setting up distance and virtual education systems, and elaborating national policies and strategies to widen access to knowledge, education and information.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46464&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (in French)

UNESCO/Hewlett Packard: Brain Gain Initiative
After a pilot phase conducted in five universities in Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe, Hewlett Packard and UNESCO have widened their joint “Brain Gain Initiative” to 10 other higher education institutions in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda. The initiative will equip Middle East and Africa-based higher education institutions with grid and cloud computing technology in order to favour networking and distance research projects, and reduce the brain drain.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46542&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO/L’Oréal: Women in Science Awards
The five laureates for the 2010 L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science partnership have been nominated: Rashika El Ridi, Cairo University, Egypt; Lourdes J. Cruz, University of the Philippines Diliman, the Philippines; Elaine Fuchs, The Rockefeller University, United States; Anne Dejean-Assémat, the Pasteur Institute, France; Alejandra Bravo, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico. Each will receive US $100,000 in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of science. The awards ceremony will take place on March 4, 2010 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46707&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO Bangkok: Resources for ICT in Teacher Training
The UNESCO Office in Bangkok has produced and is disseminating a series of CD-ROMs to enhance the integration of ICT in teacher training projects in the Asia-Pacific Region. The CD-ROMs contain free software for educators, multimedia resources, web-tools for educators, and a directory of ICT resources for teaching science, mathematics, and language.
http://www.unescobkk.org/education/apeid/news/news-details/article/
unesco-bangkok-launches-the-ict-in-education-teacher-training-series/

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS): Science and Technology
The 3rd edition of the biennial UIS Survey of science and technology statistics (S&T), which measures human and financial investment in research and development worldwide, has been released.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=7793_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

UNESCO - European Center for Higher Education (CEPES): New Mandate and Funding
According to the transitional agreement signed between UNESCO and the Romanian government, the CEPES will be entirely funded by the Romanian government for the next two years (2010-2011), its mandate being re-focused on higher education needs in Central, Eastern and South-East Europe.
http://portal.unesco.org/fr/ev.php-URL_ID=46577&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Other international initiatives
Campus France: International Student Mobility - Publication
The publication International Student Mobility: Key Figures published by Campus France provides an update of the global figures of the mobility of students. Part of the publication is devoted to world mobility and others give the destinations of students from Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe. Two chapters are devoted to France.
http://editions.campusfrance.org/chiffres_cles/
brochure_campusfrance_chiffres_cles08.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE): Call for Contributions
The OECD’s IMHE programme has launched a call for contributions for the IMHE 2010 General Conference on Higher Education in a World Changed Utterly: Doing More with Less, which will take place in Paris, from September 13 to15, 2010. Deadline: January 4, 2010.
http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,3343,en_21571361_43541789_43602173_1_1_1_1,00.html

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE): Higher Education in Regional and City Development - Chile
The Self-Evaluation Report on the Bío Bío Region, Chile, is the first review published in the framework of the second round of evaluations led by the OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development Programme. A total of 15 review reports will be carried out between 2009 and 2010.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/59/43694606.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE): Quality Teaching
The OECD-IMHE What Works Conference on Quality of Teaching in Higher Education took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 12-13, 2009. It focused on the themes of quality of teaching and learning outcomes and on the part played by national policies in improving teaching and learning in higher education.
http://www.oecdistanbul2009.com/

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Evaluation of Education - Greece
The OECD’s Economics Department Working Paper No. 723 on Raising Education Outcomes in Greece analyses all levels of education in Greece – from pre-school to tertiary level - and provides recommendations to improve quality and performance.
http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2009doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT00004F2E/$FILE/JT03269917.PDF

Réseau d’Etudes sur l’Enseignement supérieur (RESUP): Inequalities in Higher Education - Conference
The proceedings of the RESUP international colloquium on the inequalities in higher education and research (inequalities in access and success; inequalities in academic careers; inter-institutional inequalities; gender inequalities; inequalities and knowledge production), which was held in June 2009 at the University of Lausanne, have been published.
http://www.resup.u-bordeaux2.fr/manifestations/accueilmanif.htm

Regional initiatives
Africa
African Union: Pan-African University
Several documents (programme, background note, brochure, AUC Chairperson’s speech) related to the Ceremony to launch the High Level Panel (HLP) for the Pan African University are available on the African Union website (under 13 October 2009). The HLP is composed of Prof. Ndebele (South Africa); Prof. Ndiaye (Senegal); and Ms Tounsi (Tunisia).
http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/2009/october/hrst/hrst.pdf

Association of African Universities (AAU): African University Day – November 12, 2009
The theme of this year’s African University Day is: African universities: Linkages with the productive sector. The AAU is calling on all African universities to study the subject and send material (reports; photographs of activities or celebrations) to the Association for publication in its Newsletter and website.
http://www.aau.org/announce/detail.htm?ai=236

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA): African Youth Report 2009
The third part of ECA African Youth Report 2009, entitled The school-to-work transition: Why is it failing so many young people in Africa?, studies the links between education and employment and examines how governments and development partners can respond to the challenge of youth underemployment.
http://www.uneca.org/acgd/Publications/AfricanYouthReport_09.pdf

eLearning Africa: Call for Proposals
This year’s Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training (eLearning Africa) will take place in Lusaka, Zambia, from May 26 to 28, 2010. All interested parties are invited to submit proposals for leading a workshop, seminar or meeting; giving a presentation or a demonstration; or suggesting a debate topic. Deadline: December 14, 2009
http://www.elearning-africa.com/proposals.php

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA): Governance Education
SAIIA Occasional Paper, No. 43, entitled Integrating Governance Education into University Education in Africa: Perspectives, Challenges and Lessons, studies governance-related programmes in 8 Anglophone African universities.
http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/saiia-occasional-paper-no.43-september-2009-english.html

Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA): Researcher Databases – Call for Applications
SARUA is looking for researchers to help the association with its research projects and is constituting a database of researchers specialized in higher education based in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries.
http://www.sarua.org/

Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA): Regional Integration - Publication
SARUA has released the second volume of its Leadership Dialogue Series on The challenges of regional integration and its implications on higher education.
http://www.sarua.org/?q=content/volume-1-number-2-2009-
challenges-regional-integration-and-its-implications-higher-education

Americas
ALBA Region: Recognition of Diplomas
An agreement concerning the mutual recognition of higher education degrees and diplomas in the Member countries of the Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas – ALBA (Bolivarian alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean) was reached in October 2009. Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela are concerned by this agreement.

Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC): Educational Opportunities for Hispanics
The CONAHEC has launched the newly redesigned and improved website, Educamexus, whose aim is to facilitate access to educational opportunities for Hispanics in the U.S and Canada.
http://educamexus.org/ (in Spanish)

Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE): Research in Higher Education – Call for Articles
The IOHE has launched a call for articles for the 2010 edition of the Revista Iberoamericana de Investigación en Educación Superior which will address themes such as educational innovations, virtual education, quality, assessment, technology and pedagogy in higher education. Deadline: November 30, 2009
http://www.oui-iohe.org/blogoui/2009/09/29/convocatoria-para-investigadores-en-educacion-superior-revista-iberoamericana-de-investigacion-en-educacion-superior/ (in Spanish)

Organización de Universidades Católicas de América Latina: Catholic Higher Education
Several documents linked to the 15th meeting of Rectors of Latin American and Caribbean Catholic universities which took place in Antofagasta, Chile, from September 14 to 16, 2009 are available. The meeting focused on the challenges faced by Catholic higher education and the responses/actions that could be implemented to answer these (Ser Más y Servir Mejor: del Desafío a la Acción)
http://www.encuentro.ucn.cl/ (in Spanish)

Arab States
Arab Science and Technology Foundation: Arab Women in Science and Technology
The first conference on Arab Women in Science and Technology was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from September 28 to 30, 2009. Its aim was to engage women in the socio-economic development of the Arab world.
http://www.astf.net/womenrdi/index.html

Asia
Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization - Regional Center for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED): Annual Report
SEAMEO RIHED has published its annual report for the financial year 2008/2009. After a brief presentation of the organisation, the document focuses on the programme enhancement and the promotion of quality and relevance; the improvement of the Centre’s management, the enhancement of financial viability; the improvement of market access to SEAMEO RIHED’s programmes; and the promotion of national, regional, and international linkages.
http://www.rihed.seameo.org/media/ann0809.pdf

Europe
Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS): Open Access to Research Findings
A new organisation for senior management in universities and research institutions has been launched in Liège, Belgium. EOS aims to provide the higher education and research sectors around the world with information on open approaches to scholarship. It will also provide a forum for discussion and debate on the subject.
http://www.openscholarship.org/jcms/j_6/accueil

European Commission: Quality Assurance - Report
The European Commission has sent its report on Progress in Quality Assurance in Higher Education to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The report analyses the situation at the national, regional and international levels and makes suggestions for further discussion, such as looking at the quality assurance infrastructure, revisiting the European Standards and Guidelines and giving a stronger European dimension.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0487:FIN:EN:HTML

European Commission/Swedish National Agency for the Lifelong Learning Programme "Internationella Programkontoret": Mobility - Conference
The conference Erasmus – The Way Forward and the Green Paper on Mobility of Young People, organized at the University of Lund from October 5 to 6, 2009, discussed the Erasmus programme, its current challenges and the way forward.
http://kongresslund.se/erasmus/?-session=jinaSt:5C8480F818e151679BGWgsE0DECA

European Educational Research Association (EERA): Education Research - Conference
The EERA organised a conference in Vienna at the end of September on Theory and Evidence in European Educational Research. Themes included Evidence on Governance? Conceptual and Empirical Strategies in the Research on Governance in Education; New Voices, New Knowledges and the New Politics of Education Research; Learning and Emotion: Perspectives for Theory and Research; Two Solitudes: Educational Research and the Pedagogical Realm; Evidence and Imagination: on Policies for University Reform; and Education as a Vocation: Lessons from Continental Europe.
http://ecer2009.univie.ac.at/index.php?id=sitemap40066

European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning (EFQUEL): E-Learning - Conference
The EFQUEL Innovation Forum took place in Espoo, Finland at the end of September. Its theme was Fostering Quality through Creative Learnscapes. Topics included New Quality for New Learning Cultures, Innovating Higher Education through the Creation of ICT Communities, Quality for Adult Learning, and Future Learning Environments.
http://www.qualityfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=63&layout=blog&Itemid=79?=en

European Research Area Board (ERAB): Research Strategy - Report
The ERAB has published its first annual report, Preparing Europe for a New Renaissance - A Strategic View of the European Research Area, which highlights the need for a new spirit to be instilled in European research by the year 2030. ERAB has identified six policy areas: the creation of a united ERA, solutions to grand challenges, the interaction of science and society, the collaboration of private and public sectors in open innovation, the encouragement of excellence and the promotion of cohesion.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/erab/pdf/erab-first-annual-report-06102009_en.pdf

European Union: Greening Education - Conference
An International Event on Greening Education was held from 30th September to 2nd October 2009 in Karlsruhe, Germany. It discussed effective initiatives that governments, education institutions and development organisations need to take to provide sustainable knowledge, skills, values and practices in the classrooms and in the communities.
http://www.etechgermany.com/GreeningEducationEvent.pdf

Inter-Regional Cooperation
Africa/Latin America: Declaration of Nueva Esparta
The Declaration of Nueva Esparta issued at the second Africa-South America Summit, organized by the South American Community of Nations and the African Union in Nueva Esparta, Venezuela, 26-27 September 2009, aimed, among others, at developing the cooperation between the two regions in the areas of higher education, science and technology.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article162310.html

European Commission/Africa: Science Partnership
In the framework of the Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space, one of the 8 partnerships under the EU/Africa Strategic Partnership signed between the European Commission and the African Union Commission, the EU Commissioner for Science and Research paid an official visit to EU-supported Research Centres in Kenya and Ethiopia.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1275&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr
European Commission/China: Science and Technology Fellowship Programme - Call for proposals
The Science and Technology Fellowship Programme in China (STF China) seeks to promote the mobility of EU researchers towards the Chinese research and development area and to sustain the links and research partnerships between EU and Chinese research institutions. Deadline for submission: January 4, 2010.
http://www.euchinastf.eu/

European University Association (EUA)/Africa: Access and Success – Project
In its Access to Success project: fostering trust and exchange between Europe and Africa, the EUA will organize the following 3 workshops by invitation: a workshop on ‘Access and retention’ in Africa and Europe, and a parallel Africa-Europe rectors’ dialogue in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from November 17 to 20, 2009; a workshop focusing on institutional capacity building in Africa in Oslo, Norway, from February 25 to 26, 2010 with various national and international donor, development programme agencies and universities; a workshop on inter/intra regional mobility in Accra, Ghana, in May 2010.
http://www.eua.be/index.php?id=48&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=905&tx

Germany/Developing and Emerging Countries: Women in Science – Call for Applications
Schlumberger’s Faculty for the Future awards are granted to women from developing or emerging countries who are preparing a PhD or a post-doctoral diploma in Physics and Engineering at top universities in their disciplines abroad. Deadline: November 30, 2009.
http://www.slb.com/content/about/foundation/facultyfuture.asp

National and institutional initiatives
Argentina: Access
The second workshop on the access to public universities programme (Programa de Accesibilidad en las Universidades Nacionales), was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in September 2009. Organized by the Secretariat for University Policies of the Ministry of Education, it presented the measures that have already been taken and proposed new projects.
http://www.me.gov.ar/spu/guia_tematica/infraestructura_u/
infraestructura_universitaria_taller_trabajo_accesibilidad_2.html (in Spanish)

Australia: New Body
The first meeting of the newly created Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE), which replaces the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education and includes higher education, took place on September 28, 2009. It tackled issues related to the quality of tertiary education and the effectiveness of training provision.
http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Gillard/
Media/Releases/Pages/Article_090929_075622.aspx

Australia: Academic Workforce
The Educational Policy Institute (EPI) has released the Research Briefing on The attractiveness of the Australian academic profession: A comparative analysis Educational Policy Institute- to study the challenges facing the sustainability and development of the academic workforce in Australia.
http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/
Attractiveness_of_the_Australian_Academic_Profession.pdf

Australia: International Students
The Review of Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 was undertaken with the aim to enhance the quality of education and protect international students. The review should be completed by early 2010.
http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/
Documents/PDF/ESOS_review_issues_paper.pdf
The Ministry for Education has released the communiqué of the roundtable where 31 international students enrolled at Australian Universities were invited to reflect on the challenges faced by international students and suggest actions to be undertaken at the government level.
http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/
ReleaseData/Documents/090915_communique.pdf
Australian Education International (AEI) has released the report Examples of good practice in assisting international students to integrate with Australian students and the wider community, a guide that features examples of good practices undertaken by Australian tertiary institutions in the following areas: collaborative international/domestic students learning programmes; engagement with the wider community; orientation and information services for international students; staff/student social and cultural exchange activities.
http://aei.gov.au/AEI/GoodPractice_pdf.pdf
The latest Research Snapshot of Australian Education International (AEI) presents the trends of the 2009 International Student Employment Outcomes Survey.
http://aei.gov.au/AEI/PublicationsAndResearch/Snapshots/2009101610_pdf.pdf
Six organisations dealing with international education in Australia have agreed to collaborate and develop the international education industry. The joint Communiqué features a 10-point action agenda for discussion and negotiation with the government.
http://www.ieaa.org.au/NewsArticles/NewsArticle.asp?articleNo=49

Brazil: Higher Education and Civil Service
At a seminar on the professionalization and strengthening of the civil service within public policy reform (Profissionalização e consolidação do serviço público no contexto de reforma das políticas públicas), the Minister of Education delivered a speech in which he stressed the link between greater access to higher education and the democratization of the civil service.
http://portal.mec.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14308:maior-acesso-as-universidades-democratiza-o-servico-publico&catid=212&Itemid=86(in Portuguese)

Canada: Education Indicators
The Canadian Education Statistics Council has published a report on Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009. This first edition provides a comparative statistical analysis of the educational systems in Canada (at provincial/territorial level) and those of OECD Member countries. It includes the higher education level and provides data on finance, access, educational attainment, and economic benefits.
http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/212/education-indicators-canada-international-perspective-2009.pdf

Canada: Institutional Costs of Research
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) has released a note entitled Institutional Costs of Research. It explains the part played by the federal Indirect Costs programme in supporting Canadian university research and discusses why such support is essential for the future of Canadian research.
http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2009/indirect_costs_fact_sheet_e.pdf

Canada: Mobility Agreement
The Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) and the Atlantic Provinces Community College Consortium (APCCC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on credit transfer to improve student mobility among the post-secondary institutions of the region.
http://atlanticuniversities.ca/AbsPage.aspx?siteid=1?=1&id=1119
(see under September 24, 2009)

Chile: Access and Retention
The second international workshop on Access and Retention in Higher Education organized by the UNESCO Chair of the Universidad de Santiago, with the support of the Red de Universidades con Propedéuticos UNESCO which took place in Santiago, from October 1 to 2, 2009 discussed national and international policies and experiences in these themes.
http://www.propedeutico.cl/publicacion.aspx?id=76 (in Spanish)

Ecuador: Law on Higher Education
The Consejo nacional de Educacion superior (CONESUP) has posted on its website several documents related to the government’s project of a new higher education law, including a comparative study of the legislation in nine Latin American countries and Spain (Legislación Comparada de Nueve Países de América Latina y España).
http://www.conesup.net/ (in Spanish)

Finland: Educational Needs by 2020
The Finnish National Board of Education has published Education, Training and Demand for Labour in Finland by 2020. The focus is on anticipating demand for labour over a 15-year period and using the results to derive educational needs. This anticipation concerns upper secondary vocational education and training (VET), polytechnic education and university education.
http://www.oph.fi/publications/2009/
Education_training_and_demand_for_labour_in_Finland_by_2020

France: Research Evaluation
Several documents related to the Agence d’Evaluation de la Recherche et de l’Enseignement supérieur (AERES), an Agency set up two years ago, have been released, including the 2008 Activities Report.
http://www.aeres-evaluation.fr/22-09-09-Conference-de-presse-de (in French)

Germany: Funding Ranking
The latest DFG Funding Ranking, presented by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) on 10 September in Berlin reveals the amount of funding acquired by German HEIs from different sources in the last few years and provides insight into the uses to which it was put. For the first time, the report also includes detailed statistics on non-university research institutions.
http://www.dfg.de/en/news/press_releases/2009/press_release_2009_46.html

Hong Kong, China: Institutional Audit Report
The Quality Assurance Council (QAC) has released the report of the audit conducted at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). It studied the institution’s teaching and learning quality assurance system; articulation of appropriate objectives; management, planning and accountability; programme development and approval processes; programme monitoring and review; curriculum design; programme delivery; experiential and other out-of-classroom learning; assessment; teaching quality and staff development; student participation; activities specific to research degrees.
http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/qac/publication/report/hkbu200909e.pdf

India: Use of the Term University
In line with governmental directives, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that institutions deemed to be universities will no longer be allowed to use the word “University” in association with their names.
http://www.ugc.ac.in/notices/notificationworduniviersity.pdf

India: Two Central Universities in the Jammu and Kashmir State
By the rule, each State is only allowed to have one Central University. Yet, the Central Government of India has decided to grant derogation to the Jammu and Kashmir State based on the fact that it is composed of two separate regions to host two Central Universities, one in the Jammu region, the other in the Kashmir Valley.
http://education.nic.in/Press/Rel250909.pdf

India: Prospects for Higher Education
The head of India’s National Information Highway Authority (NIHA) and National Knowledge Commission (NKC) gave a public lecture at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, on the prospects of higher education in India.
http://www.crdi.ca/en/ev-146932-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Ireland: Performance Indicators for the Humanities
The report of the meeting by invitation only organized by the Royal Irish Academy and the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences to identify key performances indicators for humanities research in Ireland held in March 2009, entitled Developing Key Performance Indicators for the Humanities, has been released.
http://www.ria.ie/policy/pdfs/humanities%20for%20web.pdf?id=26&cat=policy%2breports%2b

Ireland: National Framework of Qualifications
The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland has published the Framework Implementation and the Impact Study Report which covers the first five years of the operation of the National Framework of Qualifications (NQF). Its aim was to identify progress in implementation; identify gaps and drivers/obstacles in respect of implementation; and assess the initial impact of the NFQ.
http://www.nqai.ie/framework_study.html

Japan: Quality Assurance Framework
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has released a brochure on the Quality Assurance Framework of Higher Education in Japan, that details its three components: the Standards for Establishing University (SEU), the establishment-approval system (EAS) and the Quality Assurance and Accreditation System (QAAS); their role and relationship; issues raised and how to improve their application.
http://www.mext.go.jp/english/koutou/_icsFiles/afieldfile/2009/10/09/1284979_1.pdf

Mexico: Secondary School Level Diploma
The Bachillerato will be organized at the national level. This decision is part of the higher secondary education reform (Reforma Integral de Educación Media Superior) that is being developed to improve the quality of the education system and access to higher education.
http://www.sep.gob.mx/wb/sep1/bol2471009 (in Spanish)

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